Posted on: 2 October 2015
HMRC has published its plan for reform of non-dom rules. Commenting on the changes proposed to non-dom taxation published today by HMRC Gill Smith, partner at Moore Stephens, the Top Ten accountancy firm, suggests it is still “unhelpfully short on detail.”
The consultation document was accidentally published on HMRC’s website last Monday and quickly withdrawn. Moore Stephens says that the perception of those that read the document was that it was short on detail. It was hoped that the final document would furnish more detail, but this has proved not to be the case.
Gill Smith comments: “This lack of clarity does not do enough to reassure high net worth individuals who may be considering leaving the UK. There are very complex issues to be addressed that are simply not covered, or painted in extremely broad brush strokes. The proposed changes impact on numerous areas of the non-dom rules and it is clear these have not all been considered. Whilst the change to a worldwide basis of taxation for longer term residents sounds straightforward, it certainly is not! And the delays and the lack of detail in this document are indicative of this. There is a risk of an already extremely complicated area of tax legislation getting worse.
“Non-doms make a positive contribution to the UK, with many working or running successful UK businesses. It was hoped that HMRC’s early publication of the consultation was a mistake and much more detail would be added – this has proved to be a false hope” she adds.
